Popovich challenges Parker after Game 3 debacle

As has been the case throughout their partnership, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled no punches on Monday after what might have been Tony Parker’s worst performance of the entire season in Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals.

“He’s our best player,” Popovich said. “He’s got to play better.”

Parker could scarcely have been much worse, scoring just nine points on 4 for 13 shooting with as many turnovers (four) as assists.

Excluding Game 5 of the conference semifinals against Portland, in which he was limited to just 11 minutes by a hamstring strain, it was Parker’s single poorest performance of the season per Basketball Reference’s game score metric at minus 0.2.

Indeed, one has to go all the way back to Game 6 of the 2004 conference semifinals against the Lakers, in which a Parker shot 4 for 18 with six turnovers, to find his previous worst playoff rating at minus 6.5.

Popovich’s challenge came after Parker shouldered the blame for the Spurs’ poor offensive showing, in which they shot 39.6 percent with 16 turnovers as the Thunder romped for a 106-97 victory that wasn’t nearly that close.

“I take a lot of responsibility,” Parker said Monday. “That’s my job on this team, to get everything going. That’s why I took it hard last night, because I felt like I didn’t play well. (Popovich) is right. I have to play better, and I know it. I’ll try to bounce back.”

Parker committed three straight turnovers during one stretch in the second quarter. Not long after he contributed to a fourth, inexplicably cutting away from a pass that sailed out of bounds.

But as poor as he was, Parker was far from the only culprit. Outside of him and Manu Ginobili, who scored a team-high 23 points, the rest of the team shot a miserable 24 of 65.

“He’s disappointed in the way he played, so he’s going to put that on himself,” said Tim Duncan, who had 16 points on 17 shots. “He’s going to take that, because it’s the kind of competitor he is. But it’s on all of us. None of us played well. Manu played a great game, and that was about it.”

The Spurs typically have enough balance to absorb poor performances from just about anyone, including their floor general. But despite winning 11 of the 14 games Parker missed this season, and then against Portland when he barely played, they’re also 32-6 when he scores at least 18.

So while the Spurs don’t necessarily need Parker to play well, they’re that much better when he does.

“You control him,” Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook said, “you can kind of control the rest of everything that goes on.”